Embracing Multilingualism and Eradicating Linguistic Bias

Karen Leung is currently in her second year in Woodring’s Early Childhood Education at Western Washington University. Through her involvement in this program, she has found that her passion lies in social justice and linguistics, and the overlap that exists between these two in bilingual education. Being in Woodring allows her to apply her passions to her teaching career, and gives her the opportunity to break down language barriers in education. Growing up as a native Cantonese speaker, Karen took ESL classes in school, all the while interpreting for her parents during teacher conferences at just seven years old. Through this experience, she realized that there is a need of increased awareness of the linguistic biases in our society and the need for more resources for immigrant families who are working in tandem with schools to provide the best possible education for their children. Karen also sees the potential of linguistic diversity in education, and believes that it is crucial for multicultural education. Karen's dream is to open a bilingual, Cantonese-English early childhood learning center, incorporating her knowledge in childhood development and multilingualism.